Windows XP Recovery (WindowsXPRecovery) Virus Removal Guide

Virus Type: Rogue Security Application
Threat Level: 8 / 10

Windows XP Recovery is a new fake disk optimization program. It can also be confused with Windows Recovery, which is also a fake disk optimization program. The program was released in early to mid May and is a clone of previous fake optimization programs such as Windows Fix Disk and Windows Restore. A disk optimization program is designed to optimize the computer hard drive so that the computer can perform better. It generally will do this by moving files around on the hard drive for faster access and removing unneeded files. However, Windows XP Recovery is a fake program. Windows XP Recovery may also hide files on your computer in order to scare the user into purchasing the program; however, it is important to note that if the program does do this, the files are hidden but still there. New clones of this virus are generally released on a weekly to monthly basis. The comments posted by users who were infected by Windows Restore and the The comments posted by users who were infected by Windows Recovery may provide insight into the successful removal of Windows XP Recovery. Since the viruses are very similar, we recommend that the user read through the users comments for Windows Restore to gain insight into removing Windows XP Recovery. The main difference is the name of the program; however, these programs do have a slightly different look.

Below is our recommended removal tool for Windows XP Recovery. The removal tool has been rated 5 cows out of 5 by Tucows and was previously CNET’s Editor’s Choice. Feel free to download it below.

If you are unable to run the removal tool, or are unable to run any programs in general, you may need to stop the processes associated with Windows XP Recovery with task manager. If task manager has been blocked by Windows XP Recovery, try using Process Explorer. Also, try renaming the removal tool to iexplore.exe or to a random series of characters, which may allow the program to not be blocked by Windows XP Recovery. If you need assistance, please feel to ask a question at the bottom of this post.

Important - Windows XP Recovery may hide other files and folders in the computer in an attempt to try and convince the user that there are issues with the hard drive. Therefore, by turning on “show hidden files and folders,” the user will be able to see their files.

Windows XP Recovery will display a warnings and pop ups to scare the user into purchasing the fake program.

It is recommended to use safe mode when removing the virus because Windows XP Recovery will generally not be able to load in safe mode. To enter safe mode, restart the computer and press F8 multiple times before the Windows screen to bring up the boot options.

Boot Menu

The safe mode with networking option will allow the user to be able to use the internet in safe mode. Windows XP Recovery can be removed by using the

or by manually removing the virus.

View Windows XP Recovery Files
View Windows XP Recovery Keys

Common symptoms and characteristics of Windows XP Recovery and other rogue security programs include:
1. Windows XP Recovery is generally installed without user permission.
2. Windows XP Recovery uses pop ups and fake virus scans to scare the user.
3. Various antivirus and system programs on the user’s computer will stop functioning.

Manual Windows XP Recovery Removal – In order to manually remove Windows XP Recovery, the processes associated with Windows XP Recovery must be stopped, the files associated with the processes must be removed, and the registry entries must be corrected to the previous state before Windows XP Recovery entered the computer.

Important: Before attempting to manually remove Windows XP Recovery, we recommend that the user read through comments posted by other users on how they removed specific fake antivirus programs since many fake antivirus programs are similar. These comments can be found by clicking here. These comments may provide additional information which may be useful in removing Windows XP Recovery. However, please use discretion since these specific comments pertain to other fake antivirus programs.

Stop Windows XP Recovery Processes (Learn How To Do This)
[random].exe

To clarify, [random].exe means that the executable will be a set of random characters.

Remove Windows XP Recovery Files (Learn How To Do This)

Windows XP – C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\[random].exe

Windows Vista & Windows 7 – C:\ProgramData\[random].exe

Remove Windows XP Recovery Registry Keys (Learn How To Do This)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Windows XP Recovery
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Windows XP Recovery
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Windows XP Recovery

Remove Windows XP Recovery Startup Entry (Learn How To Do This)
[random].exe

Common Questions -
1. What is a computer virus? (Click Here To View)
2. How did I get this computer virus? (Click Here To View)
3. What common symptoms show that my computer may be infected? (Click Here To View)
4. What is a rogue security application? (Click Here To View)
5. What are some antivirus and antispyware programs which I can use to remove viruses and spyware? (Click Here To View)

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to comment below. If you need any help with any of the steps, please don’t hesitate to comment below. We recommend that you follow our safety tips so that you can keep your computer clean Please Click Here to View Our Safety Tips.

Your feedback is very highly valued by others so please feel free to comment below. Please feel free to share a solution that you may have used to remove Windows XP Recovery.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 13th, 2023 at 10:01 pm and is filed under Malware Removal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

10 Responses to “Windows XP Recovery (WindowsXPRecovery) Virus Removal Guide”

Craig Smith May 17th, 2023 at 6:59 pm

I have the Windows XP Recovery virus. My screen has gone black. What is the best way to remove this virus? Thanks for your help.

Craig Smith

Donna buchman May 18th, 2023 at 5:28 pm

Hi Craig. I keep getting the scary messages and to buy. Researched issue on iPhone which led me to this site. I cannot get to f8 safe mode to try and remove. Any thoughts? Internet signal good but cannot access Internet. keeps looping to exaggerated Trojans and worms and buy screens. Not highly computer savvy and need easiest quick fix. Thanks for listening.

jonathan May 24th, 2023 at 6:01 am

Hi Donna, have you kept hitting the F8 key from the moment your PC started booting? Or do you get to the screen, where you can choose the boot mode and don´t get any further from there?

Liam May 26th, 2023 at 12:22 am

When I go into the registry editor, the windows recovery folder doesn’t appear anywhere. Can anyone help?

Gary May 27th, 2023 at 4:34 pm

I used SuperAntiSpyware and went into the registry/system to manually remove the virus files but my desktop and start menu programs are still missing. How can I restore full normal functionality?

Ruben May 30th, 2023 at 12:27 am

Can’t get Task Manager to end the task. What is Process Explorer as an option?

Ruben May 30th, 2023 at 12:31 am

What I meant is when I try to access the Task Manager, I get the message “Task Manager has been disabled by Administrator”. Sounds like the virus is blocking it.

Kitty May 31st, 2023 at 4:33 am

I kept getting a critical error message that kept popping up with a message that said, “damaged hard drive clusters detected.” A box that wouldn’t go away, at first I trusted it because it had the windows XP logo and said that was windows XP recovery. It was trying to make me purchase something, that was my first clue that it was a virus. It very quickly took control of my computer. Things were starting to disappear from my desktop. I checked the add remove programs and did not see it there.
The day before I had done a deep scan after updating Advanced System Care to 4.0, I had also done a defrag. I did a search and found several people like yourselves that told how to remove the virus. I restarted my computer in safe mode and downloaded Malwarebytes.org the free version. Thank God it found the Trojan and removed it, leaving my computer with a blank desktop and a few icons so I did a system restore to a day before I updated the Advanced System Care.
That restored my desktop settings and wallpaper, but now ALL OF MY DOCUMENTS AND ALL OF MY PICTURES ARE GONE. I also seemed to have lost everything on my external hard drive called My Book which is where I backed up all of my stuff regularly. I am really hoping that this virus just hide all these files and didn’t destroy them. If anyone knows how to recover them I will be forever Thankful. From now on I will be backing up to a DVD on a regular basis instead of my external hard drive. I also used my external hard drive to store many files and photos that are very dear to me as my mother passed away a few years ago because my computer is older and could not hold everything. Is there a way to restore these files? Are they lost forever?

Sundown May 31st, 2023 at 7:40 pm

I removed the files and registries associated with Windows XP Recovery (in Safe Mode) now when I reboot, Windows XP tries to load, but then returns to the black screen to load in safe mode, normal, or last log in. No matter which I choose, I get sent back to the black screen. What happened? How can I fix? Thanks!

alex June 11th, 2023 at 3:10 pm

Bad virus. I reinstalled xp and i still can’t access the other data partitions.

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